Railway budget of India

Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad after giving final touches to the Railway Budget 2009–10, in New Delhi on February 12, 2009

Railway budget of India was the Annual Financial Statement for Indian Railways administered by the Railway Board, which handles rail transport in India. It was presented every year by the Minister of Railways, representing the Ministry of Railways, in the Parliament.

The Railway Budget was presented every year, a few days before the Union budget, till 2016. Modi government on 21 September 2016 approved merger of the Rail and General budgets from the next year, ending a 92-year-old practice of a separate budget for the nation's largest transporter.The decision to merge the Railway Budget with the Union Budget was made in 2016, following the submission of a white paper titled 'Dispensing with the Railway Budget' by the NITI Aayog Committee chaired by Bibek Debroy.<ref>"What Led To The Merger Of Railway And Union Budget In 2017". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 18 March 2025.</ref> The paper was presented to Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said that this merger proposal was in the long term interest of railways as well as the country's economy and was a colonial practice that needed to be ended.<ref>"Railway budget to be merged with General budget from 2017". The Hindu. 14 August 2016 – via www.thehindu.com.</ref>

History

Following the recommendation of the Acworth Committee in 1920–21, headed by British railway economist William Acworth<ref>"No. 32188". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1921. p. 278.</ref> The "Acworth Report" led to reorganisation of railways, and the railway finances were separated from the general government finances in 1924. After that, in 1924, the budget was announced, a practice that continued till 2016.<ref>Powell Anstey, Vera (1977) [1952]. The Economic Development of India (4th ed.). Ayer Publishing. pp. 136–137. ISBN 9780405097751.</ref><ref>Headrick, Daniel R (1988). The tentacles of progress: technology transfer in the age of imperialism, 1850-1940. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780195051162.</ref><ref>Debroy, Bibek (6 March 2012). "Railway Budget 2012: Best time to raise fares is now". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2012.</ref>

John Matthai presented the first Railway Budget for Independent India on 20 November 1947, the Interim Railway Budget. Then, just 3 months later, he presented his second Railway Budget on 24 February 1948 where revised estimates showed a fall in earnings of about 8 crores rupees as compared with the budget estimates.<ref>"This Day 73 Years Ago, Independent India's First Interim Railway Budget Was Presented by John Mathai". 20 November 2020.</ref><ref>"Speech of DR. JOHN MATTHAI introducing the Railway Budget for 1948-49, on 24th February 1948" (PDF). Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)</ref>

Jagjivan Ram and Nirmala Sitharaman the current Finance Minister under the Modi Government 3.0 have presented the railway budget most 7 times.<ref>"लालू यादव नहीं, इन्होंने सबसे ज्यादा बार पेश किया था रेल बजट" (in हिन्दी).</ref>

The first live telecast took place on 24 March 1994.<ref>"Railway budget derailed: Five facts you probably didn't know". 21 September 2016.</ref>

The Union Minister of Railways Lalu Prasad giving finishing touches to the Railway Budget, 2004 - 2005 in New Delhi on July 5, 2004

Lalu Prasad Yadav, who remained Railways Minister from 2004 to May 2009, presented the railway budget 6 times in a row. In 2009, under his tenure a ₹108 billion (US$1.5 billion) budget was passed.<ref>"Lalu announces some more trains". The Hindu. 20 February 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2013.</ref>

In the year 1999, Mamata Banerjee (later Chief Minister of West Bengal) became the first female Railway Minister. In 2000, she became the first female to present the Railway budget<ref>"Speech of Kumari Mamata Banerjee Introducing the Railway Budget for 2000-01, on 25th February 2000" (PDF).</ref> and is the only woman to do so for two different governing coalitions (NDA and UPA).

In 2014 budget, Railway Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda announced the first bullet train and 9 High-Speed Rail routes.<ref>"Gowda's announces first bullet train between Mumbai-Ahmedabad". Patrika Group. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.</ref>

The last Railway Budget was presented on 25 February 2016 by Mr. Suresh Prabhu.<ref>"After 92 years, Rail Budget is history". Business Standard. Retrieved 24 March 2017.</ref>

Gallery

Traditions included the Railway Minister making final changes to the budget, carrying the briefcase with the budget documents, and attending an after budget press meet.<gallery> File:The Union Minister for Railways Shri Nitish Kumar entering Parliament to present Interim Railway Budget (2004-05) in New Delhi on January 30, 2004.jpg|alt=The Union Minister for Railways Shri Nitish Kumar entering Parliament to present Interim Railway Budget (2004-05) in New Delhi on January 30, 2004|The then Union Minister for Railways, Nitish Kumar entering the Parliament to present the Interim Railway Budget (2004-05) in New Delhi on January 30, 2004 File:The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Lalu Prasad giving finishing touches to the Railway Budget 2005-06 in New Delhi on February 25, 2005.jpg|The then Union Minister for Railways, Lalu Prasad giving finishing touches to the Railway Budget of 2005-06 in New Delhi on February 25, 2005 File:The Union Minister for Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee interacting with the media persons after presentation of Railway Budget 2011-12, in New Delhi on February 25, 2011 (2).jpg|The then Union Minister for Railways, Mamata Banerjee interacting with the media persons after presentation of the Railway Budget of 2011-12, in New Delhi on February 25, 2011 File:D.V. Sadananda Gowda giving finishing touches to the Railway Budget 2014-15, in New Delhi. The Minister of State for Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha, the Chairman, Railway Board (1).jpg|D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Manoj Sinha, the then Minister of State for Railways, giving finishing touches to the Railway Budget 2014-15, in New Delhi File:The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge arrives at Parliament House to present the Interim Railway Budget 2014-15documents, in New Delhi on February 12, 2014.jpg|The then Union Minister for Railways, Mallikarjun Kharge arriving at the Parliament House to present the Interim Railway Budget of 2014-15, in New Delhi on February 12, 2014 File:Dinesh Trivedi interacting with the media persons after presentation of Railway Budget 2012-13, in New Delhi. The Ministers of State for Railways.jpg|Dinesh Trivedi interacting with the media persons after presentation of the Railway Budget of 2012-13, in New Delhi. </gallery>

See also

• Union budget of India
• Military budget of India

Further reading

• Railway Budget Speech 2010 Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India.
• Railway Budget, 2012-13 Press Information Bureau
• Railway Budget, 2013-14 Press Information Bureau

External links

• Official website of the Ministry of Railways